Choss' 96 Gallon Reef Savvy Tank Build

[choss]

Update

Update

So the weather in NY finally turned for the better and went from about 15 degrees up to 45 degrees this weekend. That allowed me to spend the weekend getting the Pukani rock ready for curing. I had already bleached the rocks for about 5 days. Its really amazing rock.

Pukani closeup by choerenz, on Flickr

I rinsed the rock and I found all kinds of interesting relics. Here is a small crab and sponge that were wedged in the crevices.

Pukani critters by choerenz, on Flickr

I added the roughly 45 lbs of Pukani to a large brute. Filled it with water and poured in (very slowly) 1 gallon of muratic acid.

Safety first Choss selfie

Choss w. safety gear by choerenz, on Flickr

Muratic starting to work....

Cooking Pukani by choerenz, on Flickr

pukani bubbling up by choerenz, on Flickr

This is the third time I've cooked rock this way and its really not that bad. You just have to go slow and allow the acid to do its thing.

 

[choss]

Scape - first try

Scape - first try

I laid out my rock on a plastic board that I have taped off to represent the footprint of the tank. I am going for two islands. Based on the rock I have I want to attempt to create a natural looking chasm between two large rocks. I also want to try to make the islands very different - so not symmetrical. In taking stock of the three main pieces I will use, I have one large lower mound that will be great to grow SPS, and a natural tower piece that will allow me to attach corals vertically with SPS near the top. One of the most spectacular reefs that is inspiring this tower vision, is the amazing nano reef by Medred. Here is a picture from that build

Medred reef by choerenz, on Flickr

Here is a first pass at my scape. Looking for feedback!

scape first try by choerenz, on Flickr

Closeup of the tower.

tower closeup by choerenz, on Flickr

 

[wrxreefer823]

I laid out my rock on a plastic board that I have taped off to represent the footprint of the tank. I am going for two islands. Based on the rock I have I want to attempt to create a natural looking chasm between two large rocks. I also want to try to make the islands very different - so not symmetrical. In taking stock of the three main pieces I will use, I have one large lower mound that will be great to grow SPS, and a natural tower piece that will allow me to attach corals vertically with SPS near the top. One of the most spectacular reefs that is inspiring this tower vision, is the amazing nano reef by Medred. Here is a picture from that build



Medred reef by choerenz, on Flickr



Here is a first pass at my scape. Looking for feedback!



scape first try by choerenz, on Flickr



Closeup of the tower.



tower closeup by choerenz, on Flickr

I really like that idea for the scape. My LFS that I used to work at has a large rimless cube (somewhere in the 240G range) with a scape very similar, and it works out very well. It's really neat to see monti's and acro's growing up high and the smaller fish using the "œvalley" as their shelter. Once the rock is in the tank and in sand, I think it'll look great! One thing I absolutely can't stand in a reef tank is the pile of rocks look, why spend all that money just to dump a bunch of rocks in?! It should be a work of art, and I think you, sir, will end up with a masterpiece


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[choss]

I hope you are right. This rock has so many small natural crevices and openings that its perfect for all forms of life.

 

[choss]

Live rock

Live rock

This weekend I also picked up 25 lbs of live rock from Gulfliverock.com. The main purpose for this rock is to add bacteria and beneficial critters to the system so I opted to have Dan from GLR schedule the package via Air Cargo to minimize die off.

I want the benefits of adding this rock to my system, but am struggling with where to put them considering the clean scape I hope to achieve. They may end up in my sump, or maybe I add them initially and then remove them a few months down the road.

The rock was delivered well packaged in plastic, some water, and paper towels to keep the rocks moist.

Gulf live rock unboxing by choerenz, on Flickr

Bag is open...

Gulf Live Rock first impression by choerenz, on Flickr

You can see lots of good color, sponges, some small corals, and a bit of macro algae.

I carefully unpacked everything and rinsed the rock in a bucket, and then into a 10 gallon tank with a heater, two HOB filters, and I borrowed my small Tunze Comline 9004 skimmer from my 40 gallon AIO tank.

rock in tank by choerenz, on Flickr

Gulflverock by choerenz, on Flickr

So far my Skimmer is pulling out a lot of gunk and the smell isn't too horrible (although my son said "dad it smells like poop"). I haven't spotted any bad hitch hikers yet but I'm going to play the waiting game and let the rock sit in the holding tank for over a week - then test a bit of food and see what comes out. If all is good, I will see about starting up the main system, and adding both the Pukani and the live rock at the same time.

 

[wrxreefer823]

I hope you are right. This rock has so many small natural crevices and openings that its perfect for all forms of life.

I actually just added the rock and water to my tank today, and I'm doing a very similar scape in my 34g. The way it sits, and the way the rock is shaped, makes for some very nice little caves for critters to hide in.

As for the live rock you picked up, I agree with you on trying to keep your scape nice and clean. I'd probably end up keeping it in the sump as well.

 

[choss]

Pukani is now soaking in RODI water with some GFO running. I checked the PO today and its only .12. That is a lot lower than my last rock cure experience but this is the first time I have tried bleach and acid. Should I wait till its even lower or is this rock ready to go in the main tank? On the live rock, its still producing some really stinky stuff in my skimmer so I think it may need a few more days but I am thinking I may add both the live and dry rock this weekend to the display.

Wow as I read this I realize I'm returning to my former impatient self :headwally:

 

[choss]

Meet Fred

Meet Fred

So today I was checking on my 10 gallon live rock holding tank and I felt a pair of eyes on me. I have to say, all week I was hoping to find some cool hitch hikers on my live rock. So far I just found a small basket star. But today, those eyes were following me with interest. Here is my new friend. I've named him Fred for no particular reason.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/f4QrUsRv834" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I will need to find him a home or I can set up yet another small tank in my basement.

 

[wrxreefer823]

That is so cool!!! The coolest hitch hiker I’ve ever had was a neon green mushroom or a few tiny stars. A few years back I read a thread where a guy brought in a small octopus on some rock, and it actually did very well for quite some time!

 

[FoxFace Fish]

Omg is that a mantis shrimp

 

[choss]

That is so cool!!! The coolest hitch hiker I've ever had was a neon green mushroom or a few tiny stars. A few years back I read a thread where a guy brought in a small octopus on some rock, and it actually did very well for quite some time!

I'm really into this little guy. Today he came out and he's under an inch and a bright green color. Really beautiful. I'll see if I can get a few more pics.

Omg is that a mantis shrimp

It is!

 

[choss]

Update

Update

I have been testing my Pukani rock for PO - Its been sitting in a tub of warm RO water since I gave it an acid and bleach bath about a week or so ago. The last batch of Florida rock I cured (via acid bath only) had PO readings, each one taken over an 8 week period (so about 2 weeks apart)

.21
.32
.37
.02

With the Pukani I have taken two readings so far with the same Hanna checker:

.12
.03

Its almost too good o be true, or, doing the acid and bleach bath is super effective. Its also possible that the rocks that I received from Aquacave could have been treated similarly in the past. I sort of doubt it as I removed a few dead critters but its possible.

Anyway, that begs the question, do I refill the tank this weekend and get the new rock in there. I will add a few pieces of live rock as well and I have siporax that has been getting seeded in my 20 gallon frag tank where a small Kole tang is supplying the poop to feed the system.

So the checklist from a few weeks ago looks like this:

Determine rock - live or Pukani (check - I went with both)
Cure Pukani rock and check for PO (check - .03 and dropping)
Get live rock into holding tank, remove dead organics and pests (ongoing - first pest identified - Fred the Mantis shrimp, watching sponges carefully for die off, removing some here and there, but overall I can probably add some rock to my sump safely at this time and help speed along the cycle)
Get siporax seeded (check)
Fix metal halide issue (check) - add LEDs (check - Kessil 360 WE added, second is temporarily over my 40 cube)

So unless anyone sees any issues, I'm tempted to go for it this upcoming weekend. I can fill the tank via RO water from my basement setup, and add salt to the tank itself. I have read from one or two threads that its better to add salt before (as it can affect some equipment) but it would be really impractical to mix the salt and then have to bring containers up from the basement. Thoughts on any or all of the above?

Super excited to get this system wet & salty.

 

[Reef noob_]

Super excited to get this system wet & salty.

Wet and salty eh?? But seriously I'm excited to see this happen too! And I've always just mixed my original salt mix in the tank so that shouldn't be a problem at all.

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[choss]

Reef_noob - I plan to do exactly that. Mix it in the tank. I'll do it slowly and allow for full absorption before I start running the main pumps. Looking at this weekend so check back in a few days. I should have full scape shots and will be looking for advice.

 

[choss]

Update Scape

Update Scape

My dry rock has been curing for a few weeks. I decided I might as well get he rock into the display tank. So here are the first few views of the scape. The scape essentially consists of two Islands. I want them to be asymmetrical but forming a main chasm or channel. Here is my first attempt.

left side front view by choerenz, on Flickr

The island to the right actually is made up of two large rocks.

right side front view by choerenz, on Flickr

It may be a bit too much rock. I'm debating clipping off a bit from the back rock behind the tower. Pukani seems easy to shape so I'll have to consider that.

Here is the view from my sitting chair. The question is, should I reverse the islands and have the lower island to the right?

view from chair by choerenz, on Flickr

My wife took a look and suggested I create a second smaller channel between the rocks making up the right island. I like it.

seated view with new arrangement by choerenz, on Flickr

Looking for suggestions.

 

[wrxreefer823]

Looking good! I like the idea of the second smaller channel between the two rocks. I can imagine it could be a nice hiding spot for a coral banded or something of that nature.


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[hbrochs]

How would it look with the tower rock in the back right?


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[choss]

Looking good! I like the idea of the second smaller channel between the two rocks. I can imagine it could be a nice hiding spot for a coral banded or something of that nature.

Yes I agree. This adds a lot to the look of the tank and actually looks more natural. I may chisel a bit off the smaller rock along the back to open things up a bit.

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How would it look with the tower rock in the back right?

I think then I would lose the chasm effect of the main viewing area. The one thing that I'm wrestling with is maybe switching the islands. The tower sort of blocks the view from my easy chair although the small channel keeps it interesting.

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[GT350pwns]

Really cool build! Following along!

Also interested in more pics of the mantis!!

 

[choss]

Really cool build! Following along!

Also interested in more pics of the mantis!!

GT thanks for following! The Mantis (Fred) has decided to hide in a different rock which initially was a concern as I was having trouble locating him. Of course he picked the nicest rock that was destined for my main display. I finally found him last night. I will try for some pics as I thin out the rock in the holding tank - moving some pieces to my sump once I get water into the display. I'm still working on final scape (plus travel is getting in the way) so it will probably be the weekend after next.